Adventures with lightweight and minimalist software for Linux

html2ps: You thought it wasn’t possible

I made a big deal the other day about converting csv files to Excel files, and from there possibly even generating HTML files as a result. Here’s one that will reverse directions on you again, converting an HTML page into PostScript. And of course, it’s called html2ps.

Nothing much to show, of course, but the end result is undeniable. And of course it’s only one step from there to …

Acrobat Reader?!😯 Yuck!😡

Sorry, I do that just because I know I’ll get an e-mail from a certain reader, reminding me that ‘Reader is evil, and there are dozens of free alternatives. It amuses me.

The point of this little soliloquy is to mention that you can dump HTML pages into PostScript files, and maintain most of the information, if not all the style. html2ps does it fairly effortlessly, and fairly quietly. Meaning your csv files can now be converted to Excel, then to HTML, and from there to PostScript.

And of course, from PostScript it’s just a quick hop to PDF format, or whatever your heart desires. Why do that? Well … because you can!

As a console application, html2ps doesn’t rank very high, since it has little offer in a way of interaction except through option flags and error messages. I don’t hold any ill-will for that, but I will repeat my preference for applications that use space and color and some sort of interface.

I guess programs are like people. Some don’t care to say too much, while others will take up as much as you’ll give them.😉